Kim Petras
|death_date = |origin = Cologne, Germany |instrument = Vocals |genre = Pop, EDM, dance-pop, electropop |occupation = Singer, Songwriter |years_active = 2008–present |label = BunHead |associated_acts = |website = |current_members = |past_members = }} Kim Petras (born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter, currently based in Los Angeles. Since 2016, Petras has been releasing music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records. Petras was born and raised in Cologne, where she had become subject of media coverage after undergoing gender transition at a young age. Petras began recording music as a teenager, releasing her debut extended play One Piece of Tape in 2011. She independently released her debut single in 2017, the Dr. Luke-produced "I Don't Want It at All", which went on to top several viral music charts on Spotify. The song was followed by Billboard-charting singles "Feeling of Falling" (with Cheat Codes), "Heart to Break", and "1, 2, 3 Dayz Up" (featuring Sophie). Following her early success, Petras released a slew of digital singles which would later comprise her unofficial body of work known as Era 1. On 1 October 2018, Petras released the Halloween-themed, novelty EP Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1. Her first studio album Clarity was released on 28 June 2019. The record was preceded with a nine-week-long promotional campaign, during which Petras released one single a week with an accompanying visual video. Clarity managed to reach number seven on the Heatseekers Chart and number 26 on the Independent Albums chart. Early life Kim Petras was born on 27 August 1992 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. While she was assigned male at birth, her parents, Lutz and Konni, have said that from the age of two, she began insisting she was a girl. It became apparent this was "not just a phase," and her parents tried to be supportive but made her wear gender neutral clothes in public. Eventually her parents sought professional help but struggled to find people who were knowledgeable on the subject. In time they found Bernd Meyenburg at Frankfurt University who was head of a clinic for children and had studied transsexuality since the 1970s. In 2006, Petras, then aged 13, made her first significant media appearance in a story on stern TV de, a German television current affairs show. In it, she described her gender transition and the medical treatment received at the Endokrinologikum (endocrinology center) in Hamburg by Achim Wüsthof. However, it was not until the following year, at aged 14, that Petras gained worldwide attention from the news media. This occurred after she appeared in a German television documentary, and a talk show, in a push to get permission for early gender reassignment surgery at age 16. According to German law, a person must normally be at least 18 to be allowed to undergo this kind of surgery. The publicity generated from the 2007 TV appearances resulted in many news articles about her gender transition at age 12 and describing her as the "world's youngest transsexual". This assertion, however, is inaccurate, as gender dysphoria is often diagnosed in early childhood and transition by children under 12, though uncommon, is not unknown. However, Petras may have been one of the youngest people at that time to receive female hormone treatments. In September 2007, she was a model for a nationwide chain of German hair salons. Petras turned 16 in 2008, and announced in a November 2008 post on her blog that she had recently completed her gender reassignment surgery. The story hit the news media in early February 2009, suggesting that Petras may be the youngest person in the world to have had gender reassignment surgery. Petras is very adamant that her gender has always been female. In an interview about her surgery she stated "I was asked if I feel like a woman now – but the truth is I have always felt like a woman – I just ended up in the wrong body". Career 2013–2014: Career beginnings Throughout 2013, Petras worked with producers including The Stereotypes and Aaron Joseph on a music career, also releasing a song called "STFU" on her SoundCloud page in 2014. For her contributions to social media, Petras was ranked at number 19 on Billboard's Artist Chart, listing developing artists, in July 2013. 2017–2019: Breakthrough with Era 1 In August 2017, Petras released her debut single "I Don't Want It at All", The song went on to reach the Spotify Global Viral chart. The accompanying music video for the song premiered in October on Vevo, and features a cameo appearance by Paris Hilton. In the same month, Petras was picked by Spotify to be one of the four artists named as a RISE Artist, a "program designed to identify and break the next wave of music superstars." During the end of 2017, Petras was dubbed "most likely to dominate the pop charts" by Paper magazine, and appeared on Charli XCX's mixtape Pop 2 (2017) for the track "Unlock It" alongside Jay Park. In January 2018, the Nicholas Harwood-directed video for Petras' single "Faded", which features Lil Aaron, premiered on Noisey, That same month, she appeared in the January issue of Galore. Petras released the breakup-inspired "Heart to Break" in February, to commemorate Valentine's Day. The song was given its radio debut on BBC Radio 1 on 19 February. Bryan Kress of Billboard noted how while the single is "still keeping Petras' upbeat, unabashed pop sound... ventures into new territory for the songwriter." On the 21st of that same month, Petras released her online singles-bunble, Spotify Singles, exclusively through the service under BunHead Records, Petras' own label. It consisted of live renditions of "Hills" and The Killers' "Human", as performed at their NYC Studio. On 1 October 2018, Petras released Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1, a Halloween-themed extended play. The project was seen as a departure from Petras' typical sound, and features a guest appearance from Elvira. Afterwards, Petras announced plans to release a single a month as a lead up to her debut album. She was featured on Cheat Codes' song "Feeling of Falling" in November 2018. In February 2019, Petras released three singles titled "1,2,3 Dayz Up" featuring Sophie, "If U Think About Me...", and "Homework" featuring Lil Aaron. Petras has not publicly expressed plans to release an album with any of her digital singles from 2016 until early 2019, but has referred to this release period as Era 1 on multiple occasions. 2019: Clarity and Turn Off the Light Petras released her debut album, Clarity, on 28 June 2019. Throughout May and June, Petras released one song a week as a lead-up to the album's release. In June, Petras embarked on the 24-stop Broken Tour across North America and Europe. Despite backlash from the general public, Petras continued to work with Dr. Luke, a producer who was accused of sexual assault by Kesha in 2014, on the album. Petras was on the cover of magazines Galore and Notion that same month. The album was preceded by promotional singles including "All I Do Is Cry" and "Sweet Spot" and was accompanied by the lead single, "Icy", on its release date. Petras made a series of appearances on podcasts and web series to promote the record, including an interview on the Zach Sang Show. In August, Petras announced that there would be a limited edition vinyl pressing of Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 through Urban Outfitters. Petras has announced that Turn Off the Light, Vol. 2 will be released exactly a year after the first part. On 1 October 2019, Petras' second studio album Turn Off the Light was released. The album features songs from Vol. 1 and also 9 new tracks. Artistry Kim Petras is a pop artist who also makes electronic dance music (EDM), dance-pop and electropop. She credits the late-1990s/early-2000s pop scene and 1980s Italo disco as her primary basis for her sound. Pop inspirations include Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue, Madonna and The Spice Girls, as well as Boy George, Debbie Harry, Queen, Freddie Mercury, Judy Garland, Baby E, Lil Aaron, and Liz Y2K. In an interview, Petras stated that "To me, pop music is an escape from my problems. I can put on my headphones and listen to it for three and a half minutes to forget about everything that's bothering me. It's always been that way for me. I feel like pop definitely saved my life in so many ways." On her songwriting, Petras told Noisey that "there's something about making a song that everybody can sing and remember, and when you listen to it the first time you already know the words by the second chorus, like you've always known the song. I'm obsessed with that idea." She commented on themes, stating "I write about boys, heartbreak, sex, having fun and the things that I go through." Following her debut, Petras was dubbed as "the new princess of pop" by Nasty Galaxy. This title was further repeated by publications including Billboard, ABC News, V, and Idolator. Discography Studio albums * Clarity (2019) * Turn Off the Light (2019) EPs * One Piece of Tape (2011) * Spotify Singles (2018) * Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 (2018) Singles * "I Don't Want It at All" (2017) * "Hillside Boys" (2017) * "Hills" (featuring Baby E) (2017) * "Slow It Down" (2017) * "Faded" (featuring Lil Aaron) (2017) * "Heart to Break" (2018) * "Can't Do Better" (2018) * "All the Time" (2018) * "Feeling of Falling" (with Cheat Codes) (2018) * "If U Think About Me..." (2019) * "Homework"(featuring Lil Aaron) (2019) * "1,2,3 Dayz Up" (featuring Sophie) (2019) * "Icy" (2019) * "How It's Done" (with Kash Doll, ALMA, and Stefflon Don) (2019) Category:Artists Category:NVSC 24 artists Category:NVSC 30 artists